The Call
by SVUAddicted
Summary: An alternate ending to Surrender Benson. Lewis asked her to do something as he was handcuffed to the bed and Olivia was staring down at him. Call her squad? End him herself? Or place a different call entirely?
1. What Should I Do?

"My partner would know what to do." Olivia circled Lewis who was apparently passed out on the floor, he was handcuffed to the bed, blood trickling from his nose slowly. Lewis had kept Olivia captive for days, burning her, torturing her. But now the tables had turned because she overpowered him- she has the control.

Moving to the mirror to finally look at herself, she didn't recognise the woman she was seeing. Her hair was matted with sweat, blood and alcohol. Bruises decorating her face, splotches of red and purple taking over the majority of her skin. She turned around walking back over to Lewis, crouching in a whisper "Maybe I should call him."

"Then just do it" Lewis bit back, indicating he was conscious the whole time making Olivia jump back in surprise. "If you're going to do something, just do it. That speech was pathetic." He writhed against the handcuffs to spit blood out on the floor. She didn't respond, instead she went back to grab the iron bar she had left by the mirror earlier. Quickly going back to the man on the floor to strike him across the ahead again- this time he was out cold.

Olivia left the room, tucking the gun in her belt and taking the iron bar just for good measure. Desperate to find the phone Lewis had stolen from the last house they were in, throwing items around making and even bigger mess of the already disturbed living room. Finally she found it and dialled a familiar number. It seemed to ring forever without an answer, the quietness feeding her paranoia causing her heart to speed up. Olivia was sure that Lewis would break free and come to drag her back into that bedroom at any moment, the silence broke suddenly throwing her mind back into the present. "Stabler." the voice answered.

"El." She breathed, squeezing the phone tightly. "Olivia?" the man responded. His eyes flicked to the news about the missing detective, they hadn't given their name but he was quickly putting the pieces together. Why else would his old partner contact him now, especially since he was the one to leave her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, standing up as worry began to creep up on him. Olivia broke into a stifled cry on the other end of the phone. Between tears she managed to pull a few words together. "Not really"

"What's going on?" Elliot quizzed, maybe in a half attempt to deny the situation. He didn't want to think that the kidnapped officer on the news was his old partner. "Please Liv...say something."

Still pacing she lifted her hand to her forehead, the skin underneath still being tender from the assault. "He was in my apartment..."

That confirmed it for Elliot. It was Olivia they were talking about on the news and red hot anger was filling him. He grabbed his jacket and keys and headed straight for the door. "Go outside and tell me what you can see. Tell me where you are."

Olivia wiped her face and followed the instructions. She briefly checked on Lewis to make sure he was still unconscious and then jogged to the front door opening it. Cold air hit her face, creating a stinging sensation but she welcomed it. Like the first lap of freedom she had seen in the last few days. Elliot disturbed her by prompting a response. "Liv, what can you see?"

Describing the landscape around her and additionally finding an old letter jammed into the mail box. She read that to Elliot on the phone, hearing a car start up in the background. She knew he was coming. "I've got in Liv. I'm on my way, can you hear the car?" he used a lower voice attempting to comfort her.

"Yeah" she replied, her voice calming so slightly at his reassurance. "He's out cold right now."

"Yeah. That's good. You've done really good." Clicking the phone into the hands free receiver. "Are you outside still?"

"I am..." her voice grew fainter. She was struggling to stay awake, the mixture of vodka and sleeping pills in her system taking over again. Wooziness grew stronger and keeping her eyelids open became harder as she sat herself down on the steps. "El. I'm tired." her head dropping momentarily. "Liv" Elliot shouted trying to wake her back up. "Liv!"

"Sorr-" she tried to force the last of her words out but it was fight she wasn't going to win. Liv passed out slumped down the steps to the foreclosed house, the phone dropping from her hand.

Elliot had finally arrived at the Suffolk county house. Olivia was still slumped on the steps so he got out and ran straight to her to check her pulse. "Oh thank god" he muttered, feeling it under his finger tips. Placing a hand on her shoulder he attempted to wake her. "Hey Liv... come on... I need you to wake up." Glancing over her injuries he was trying to take it all in, the cuts and bruises on her face and arms. Also what looked like burns peeking through the top of her shirt. Circular marks that looked like cigarette burns.

Slowly she opened her eyes and was greeted by those warm blue eyes she had missed dearly. Perhaps more than ever in this moment. "Hey" she said quietly, attempting to sit up but her body felt stiff and sore. Elliot helped her, turning his attention to the house behind them. "Stay here." he breathed, dashing inside, wrapping his fingers around his gun.

He made his way to the bedroom as he had searched the other rooms not finding Lewis. Pushing the door open quietly revealed a man handcuffed to the bed, obvious head injuries and dried blood covering the majority of his face. The man on the floor chuckled. "I guess she finally did something."

Rage took over his body and mind, making him visibly shake, and that was just from looking at the vermin below him. He crouched down, grabbing the man's face pulling it in his direction. "Like hurting women, do ya? Is it fun, hunting 'em down." Elliot leg go of his face following it through with a sharp slap. "Do ya?" he shouted.

Lewis just laughed again in response. "That depends." Elliot was realizing that this man was not your normal perp, there seemed like there were no emotions to read. No fear, no enjoyment, just a dark shell of an individual. Lewis pulled on his handcuffs in annoyance. "Well are you gonna do something? Or are you just as pathetic as she is?" He spat.

At that instance the rage took charge and he tucked his gun back into its holster. Looking up he could see the metal bar Olivia had left on the bed earlier, blood stains spattered across it and red splotches that looked an awful lot like fingerprints. Assuming they belonged to Liv, he paced back over to Lewis on the floor. Elliot smirked. "Lets see how long it takes you to regret fucking with the NYPD." He dragged the bar across the metal bed frame making a scraping sound as she circled around Lewis. Much like his partner had done earlier.

Lewis glanced up at the man above him. Pulling harder on the handcuffs now, perhaps indicating there was finally some fear in him. "Never. She was such a doll." That statement was suddenly followed with the iron bar striking his head, knocking him unconscious again. Elliot didn't stop, he struck him again and again, hitting his ribs, head, legs, knees. Lewis was more than subdued at this point but he couldn't stop himself, maybe he was just angry at Lewis but there was more to it than that. He left Olivia, and how she's assaulted by some creep he wasn't even aware of? It's not like he had moved away. He was in Queens this whole time, but he chose not to contact her. Maybe this was all his fault. All of this was running through his mind whilst he carried on attacking Lewis. Blood coated the bar and his hands, leaving Lewis almost unrecognizable.

Olivia came into the room shouting. "Elliot. Stop. Elliot!" She grabbed the bar off him and threw it to the ground behind them both, finding her hands in his. "El. It's over."

Blood spattered over Elliot's shirt, yet his focus was on the woman in front of him. He pushed her matted hair gently out of her face and relaxed. "Yeah." Olivia pulled on his arm to lead him out of the room and back into the main living space. "I better call my squad." she spoke simply, letting go of Elliot entirely.


	2. Cornflower Blue

NYPD vehicles were flying into the beach house driveway one after other, support vehicles and unmarked cars too. The flashing lights caught Olivia's attention, she stood up recognising the cars as the ones that would be holding her colleagues. Elliot sat nearby, after dealing with Lewis they had been stuck in a silence, occasionally El would go and check on him but still no words between them.

Amaro entered the room wrapping a grey woollen blanket around Olivia. "I've got you". He started to lead her out of the room when the unfamiliar man spattered with blood captured his gaze. "Scuse me, who are you and what are you doing here?". Letting go of Olivia he moved towards the man, shoulders raised slightly as men showing dominance often did, like a peacock displaying his feathers. Elliot looking up answered "Elliot Stabler, and i'm just here to help."

"Looks like you were doing more than that." Amaro quizzed, reaching into his pocket he found his notepad and quickly began writing. Uniformed cops swarmed the house at this point and were busy dealing with a wounded Lewis. Olivia noticing what was going on placed her hand on Amaro's shoulder with a sigh, even in this situation she was taking care of other people. Some things never change she pondered. "Nick, it's okay. He's my old partner."

"Ahh.." Realizing that Stabler was a name familiar to him he decided to just get Liv out of the house and to somewhere she felt safe. "You stay here." He motioned Elliot back on to the couch so he could be interviewed, and attempt to figure out how all this went down. How did Elliot get here before them and why was he covered in blood too.

Shortly after Fin entered the living room where Elliot was waiting and sat opposite him. "Never thought i'd be seeing your ugly mug again Stabler." he chuckled, throwing his hands onto his lap. Elliot lifted his head to see his old colleague sat before him, bulletproof vest still on, tiredness all over his face from pulling double, triple shifts trying to find Olivia. Aware that Elliot still hadn't said anything he leaned forward so they were eye level. "Hey man, do you wanna tell me what happened here. Why you're here?"

Elliot's brow furrowed trying to make sense of it himself. "Livia called me..."

"Okay. What was that phone call about?" Fin had his notepad also, indicating that this was turning into an interview. An informal one, but an interview nonetheless.

"Isn't that obvious?" Elliot bit back becoming more irritated with the situation as it progressed. "She was fuckin' kidnapped and tortured. She needed help."

Sensing Elliot's increasing anger he tempered his emotions , he knew from experience the calmer he was when dealing with Stabler. The calmer Stabler stayed, especially when it comes to Olivia. "I know that Elliot. I still gotta know what went down."

"She told me what happened, that a man called William Lewis was in her apartment and took her. I've seen that man all over the news...". His voiced cracked slightly for a moment. Thinking of what she went through. Fin didn't interrupt but just listened intently.

"I told her to go outside and tell me what she could see. She found the mailbox and gave the address and I basically floored it on the highway from Queens. I kicked the door in." He gestured to the front door swinging on its hinges. "Went into the back bedroom where Lewis was, I then handcuffed him to the bed and gave the guy what he deserved."

"You handcuffed him?" A doubtful look fell on Fin's face briefly, it was apparent that Elliot had none of his police gear with him. Unless he carried handcuffs around all the time which didn't seem likely.

"That's what I said." Elliot's voice was getting louder and sharper the more the questioning persisted. "I'm going to go find Liv. He stood up and strode straight for the doorway but found Fin had blocked his path.

"Elliot, you are covered in blood man."

"Fine. Have my shirt. I am going to Olivia." He tore off his shirt and threw it at the detective. He exited the house seeing all his old squad members, some new ones, but more importantly Cragen. Their eyes met causing Elliot to freeze on the spot, yet Cragen was in motion approaching Elliot quickly, flicking his eyes over the topless detective with dots of blood on his tracksuit bottoms. "Stabler." Cragen gestured encouraging Elliot to follow him towards one of the unmarked vehicles. He opened the back door and Elliot slid himself inside, Cragen leaned in then blocking the view of them from other police on the scene. "I don't know what happened here. Or how you got here but I have gotta say thanks."

Elliot nodded in response to his old captain who shut the door on him quickly, hearing a knock on the roof the driver pulled out of the drive way. Assuming he was on the way to the precinct he watched Olivia get into the ambulance. Which promptly followed behind them until they had found the freeway. Looking out the back window until the ambulance was out of sight he slumped into the leather seat, hands falling onto his lap, he hung his head exhaling deeply. To think only hours before he was sat in his apartment alone after his shift at the District Attorney's office, to finding Olivia again and beating a man senseless. Somehow it felt familiar, engaging with his rage that he had pushed aside for the past year. At SVU it's how we would feel everyday until he had less and less control. That's why he had to leave, to get a hold of himself, learn to manage his emotions.

However he knew that if anybody could get him back it would be Olivia. Dusk was colouring the sky a shade of cornflower blue weaved between grey wisps of clouds. Elliot stared out of the window to his side letting the motion occupy his mind instead of the thousand thoughts of his old partner, his old squad. His old life.


	3. Olive Branch

Manhattan surrounded the car and he could draw the route they were taking blindfolded, every street and alleyway was familiar. Much like the lines on his hands, and now his face too. Elliot knew that they would soon reach his old precinct that sat amongst brownstones and worn down buildings, in fact most of his old stomping ground seemed worn down but maybe it was just him that became worn down. Slowly the vehicle pulled up outside the SVU building and he traced it with his eyes, up and down. Before he could finish contemplating what stood before him the car door opened and a uniformed officer asked him to step outside.

"Please step outside of the vehicle Mr Stabler." the voice demanded. Elliot looked up at the young guy before him and it was almost like stepping into the past, before Olivia and everything dark and complicated about the special victims unit.

"It's detective." He answered stepping out and offering his wrists expecting to be met by handcuffs.

"Sorry. I'll leave the cuffs." The uniformed officer was now stood behind him and was leading him to the front doors, and into the elevator to the right. Elliot quickly became lost in thought as they were sent to the floor of his old squad, crammed in with other members of police and suits he felt out of place. It's not the first time he's taken this ride with bloodied clothes and knuckles, it's not even the first time he's done it without a shirt. Yet this was so different, when did a place so familiar turn to a place he felt estranged.

The doors opened and he let out a light chuckle seeing the desks and general layout to have remained exactly the same as when he left. Even Olivia's desk was in the same place, even if had moved he would know exactly which one it was. Her desk often had paperwork and discarded coffee cups left around, he could also bet dollars to doughnuts that the bottom draw was full of snacks. She hid them but he would go in a sneak a few when she wasn't looking.

Elliot was led to an interrogation room to the left past the desks and seated himself down. Even the door clanging behind him somehow felt familiar, he leaned back on his chair feeling the metal bars press into his bare back. He sighed, knowing that all too soon someone was going to enter and he had a lot of questions to answer.

A few hours later the interrogation door flew open startling Elliot, he must have fallen asleep during the wait without realising it.

"Mornin' sunshine." chirped Fin noticing that Elliot had been asleep just moments earlier.

Stretching he forced out a reply. "Fin."

"So. Stabler. We have got some talking to do." Fin sat down opposite Elliot with a rather light looking file in hand.

"I've no problems with what you did to this guy. But we've gotta be clear on how this went down." He flicked the file open and glanced over the preliminary reports, it was mess between his handwriting, Amaro's and the notes from the uniformed cops. "According to this _you_ handcuffed the suspect?" He flicked his eyes up to meet Stabler's.

"Yeah. I did." Elliot began grinding his teeth, something he always did when his anger was bubbling up inside him. Next would be the flexing of his hands, and then the inability to sit still. He knew his pattern well. So did Fin.

"You weren't on the job? So where did you get the handcuffs?" Fin was taking everything in, watching for Stabler's body language and it didn't take an expert to deduce that he was getting worked up.

"I brought them with me." Elliot bit back quickly. "In my back pocket because I didn't know what I was gonna be walking into."

"Okay." Fin sighed closing the file. "I'm gonna level with you now Stabler. 1PP and IAB are trying to screw Liv on this. They're saying that Lewis was already handcuffed before you arrived and then you beat him. Basically they're saying it's excessive force."

Elliot's eyes stared down Fin's immediately, and he leant in close to the other detective, his fingertips almost brushing the closed file. "They have nothing on her. In fact she barely touched the guy. I walked in. I handcuffed him with _my_ handcuffs. Then I beat the fucker." Elliot leaned back then letting Fin know the discussion was over, that was his version of events and even Fin wasn't stupid enough to think he would ever budge on that.

Several hours later Elliot was allowed to leave the precinct and go to Olivia in the hospital. Weaving through beige corridors and various departments to find her room, she was in her own room at the bottom of the ER corridors. Two uniformed officers were posted outside and he entered the room to Liv sat with a nurse. She looked up and saw a faint smile appear on her face until her attention was back on the nurse. The nurse looking at them both decided to give them some space and she left the room.

"Hey Liv." He lowered his voice and approached the bed, the nurse had already taken Olivia's clothes and patched most of her injuries up.

"Hey". She answered bringing her knees to her chest. "Listen you...". Elliot interrupted her knowing that the whole time she was in then hospital she would have been thinking about the investigation, the handcuffs and as always Elliot.

"You don't need to worry. Because those handcuffs were _mine."_ He joined her on the bed and sat himself on the end, placing a hand briefly on hers giving it a reassuring squeeze. Olivia nodded and then pulled her hand away, her focus shifting on the next part of the process she had to endure, the part she had been dreading the most. The nurse had already talked her through what would happen during a rape kit, and she knew better than anyone what the process was. Yet being on the other side of the equation felt very unsettling.

Elliot had been watching Olivia the last few minutes, when they were together they had a strange sixth sense for what the other was going through. As they stayed in the partnership longer it morphed into knowing what each other was thinking, and even predicting what their next move would be. He knew what was behind the apprehension building up within her. "Liv, if you want I can wait outside whilst the nurse finishes up?"

She looked back at him then, taking in all his features, examining him for any sign of faltering or deception. Olivia was never sceptical of him before, even though he came when she called it still didn't seem real. If she was to reach out and touch him that he would just disappear again. Leaving her grasping at the embers of his heat. "Yeah. I'd appreciate that." The nurse filed in and Elliot made his way outside the door. She really did appreciate him staying, because even without him in room, having him so close, tangible, is more than she had for a long time.

The nurse had gathered the various instruments she would need and began with the procedure. Olivia's focus was on the door and everything else seemed to fade into the background. Elliot's shadow in the blinds brought a hint of reassurance and she grasped at it desperately hoping she wouldn't regret the olive branch she just extended to her former partner.


End file.
